Writer in Residence

Yesterday I got an email from my American editor at Little, Brown, the excellent Alvina Ling. She had for me the reviews of the Hip Scouts, the program at Little Brown which gives young readers a chance to request ARCs and then report back on them. They had read the American version of Guardian of the Dead, and they had Things to Say!

I found the results illuminating, and I thought you might too. I have reproduced some of them below.

(NB: For the sake of science I must mention that these samples are not evenly weighted, for reasons that will become apparent at the end of the post. I did not include quotes from every reviewer, and some I quoted twice. One, three times!)

Characterisation:

The protagonist, Ellie, was strong and likeable. (Allie, 16)

I did not find Ellie Spencer, the narrator, extremely likeable. (Deirdre, 16)

Ellie was such a fun character to read about and easy to relate to. (Codi, 22)

[I]t might be difficult to relate to her situation, relating to her emotions and self-consciousness. (Kristin, 20)

I’ve never read a book that prominently featured someone who was asexual, and I felt like Karen Healey did a good job with Kevin. (Jen, 19)

Ms. Healey tried to add aspects to the story that people could relate to such as being “asexual” … but I think she added those points just to have them. (Erica, 15)

All the characters were … nicely developed and fun to read about. (Adrienne, 16)

I found the characters to be rather bland. (Laura, 17)

Plot and Pacing:

The plot twists and turns in a way that keeps the reader glued to the page. (Gaylen, 16)

The plot was interesting however I just felt it was a little substandard. (Laura, 17)

The beginning was really good, and I liked how it was written. (Adrienne, 16)

The beginning was very slow and frustrating at parts. (Joanna, 20)

The middle section where all the action happens is my favorite part. (Marisa, 19)

The middle was a little boring and confusing (Adrienne, 16)

I … thought the ending completed the book well. (Erica, 15)

[A]n abrupt ending that didn’t really feel complete or thought out. (Marisa, 19)

Cover:

The cover intrigued me because I wanted to know what the mask represented in context with the book. This book would definitely catch my attention in a book store. (Courtney, 18)

[T]his cover is just very bland and doesn’t really fit the rich storyline. The mask looks cheap. … If I saw this book in the bookstore, I probably [wouldn't] even pick it up long enough to read the blurb. (Amanda 18)

Expectations:

Before I started reading the book, I read the quotes all over the cover, along with a few reviews online. I assumed that, like mostly newly released books, there was more “hype” than good. I was wrong. (Meg)

I wanted to love this book since I first heard of it last year, but I am just disappointed at the final product. (Yan, 17)

Overall Impressions:

I LOVED this book. (Amanda, 18)

I can’t say I loved the book. (Erica, 15)

If this book doesn’t make the best sellers I’ll be shocked in a million different ways. (Christina, 17)

I found this story only ok. (Kimi, 17)

[U]nlike anything I’ve ever read, completely fresh and innovative. (Allie, 16)

Had I not studied the Maori culture, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this book whatsoever. (Joanna, 20)

This book is an amazing page turner. (Sarah, 18)

I found the novel as a whole tedious. (Yan, 17)

Isn’t that fascinating? I read these grinning. Not only did these readers put a lot of effort into coming up with thoughtful, in-depth reviews, but they provided a wonderful reminder of something very important; someone can love something in my work that the next person will hate. The same thing, in the same work, can provoke wildly disparate reactions, and I have no control over that.

Which I already knew, of course, but until I saw these reviews, it wasn’t quite this clear. Best object lesson ever!

Something else interesting that I discovered as I worked through these to find the selections, was that my writerly ego, which had decided that the reviews were overall about half-positive, half-negative, was completely off-base. There are thirty-two reviews in all. Nine were either overall negative, or felt the book was just okay. Twenty-three were overwhelmingly positive.

And yet despite the disparity in numbers, my brain had seen that as about half-and-half. Oh, writerly ego, why must you accentuate the negative, eliminate the positive, and in other ways make Bing Crosby sad?